Winners and losers of the NBA’s plan to restart the 2019-20 season
By Ian Levy
The NBA has reportedly finalized a plan for restarting the season and will be presenting it to its Board of Governors on Thursday.
We may be under two months away from the return of NBA basketball. Reports emerged today that the league has finalized a proposal to resume the season on July 31, at Walt Disney World, with 22 teams. The plan still needs to be approved on Thursday but everything appears to be moving forward.
The new plan will bring 22 teams to Orlando — the eight teams in each conference currently in playoff position, along with the Washington Wizards, Portland Trail Blazers, Phoenix Suns, Sacramento Kings, San Antonio Spurs and New Orleans Pelicans. Each team will have eight regular-season games before they move into the play-in phase.
The top seven teams in each conference will advance to the playoffs. If the team in each conference in the ninth position is within four games of the No. 8 team in the standings, they’ll have the opportunity to play their way in. In this case, they’ll need to beat the No. 8 team twice to secure a position. From there, the playoffs will be conducted as normal.
If it can be pulled off safely, this plan will create an exciting, if temporary, new structure and several weeks jam-packed with games. However, some teams clearly benefit from this plan, while others may not be nearly as happy.
Who makes out the best and worst in the NBA’s new plan?
Winner: New Orleans Pelicans
When Zion Williamson made his season debut, the Pelicans stood at 17-28, four games out of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. From that point on, they went 11-9, outscoring opponents by an average of 4.0 points per 100 possessions. They only closed the gap between themselves and a playoff spot by a half-game, but the NBA’s plan for a resumed season gives them a chance to recreate that late-season momentum and breakthrough to the postseason.
The downside is that if they do make the playoffs if will have to come at the expense of Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies, who currently have the eighth-best record in the West. The way the Rookie of the Year race turned into a playoff race was one of the most exciting arcs of this season by including 22 teams instead of 16, the NBA has ensured it can play out to its natural conclusion.